Men's National Teams

Watch a couple minutes of Concacaf U-17 Championship highlights and one thing is clear: There is a lot of talent in the youth ranks at some of North America and Central America. 

This isn’t that surprising to anyone who follows MLS these days. Two of the biggest stars in the field are Mexico’s Efrain Alvarez and the United States’ Gianluca Busio, two 16-year-olds who are already making waves in MLS. 

Richard Ledezma, an 18-year-old Phoenix native, scored his first goal since joining PSV Eindhoven on Saturday, netting in a 1-1 draw for the U-19s against NAC Breda.

Ledezma, a dual national who has represented the USMNT at youth levels but remains eligible to represent Mexico, moved to the Netherlands in December. 

It’s raining sideways in Herzogenaurach on Monday evening with the temperature hovering in the low 40s. With a colossal match against Augsburg — one place above Schalke in the desperate battle to avoid the Bundesliga relegation playoff — looming the following Sunday, you could forgive Weston McKennie for being in a foul mood after traveling over 400 kilometers from Gelsenkirchen to arrive at adidas headquarters in Herzo for an evening of interviews. 

Giovanni Reyna scored on a 24-yard free kick to cap a rally from two goals down as the U-17 USMNT beat Canada 3-2 to open the Concacaf U-17 Championship on Thursday in Bradenton, Florida. 

Reyna, the son of former USMNT captain and current NYCFC director of operations Claudio Reyna, had a goal and an assist for the U.S. youth team as it began its quest to qualify for the U-17 World Cup to be played in Brazil later this year.

Raúl Jiménez is having himself a year with Wolverhampton Wanderers. 

In fact, the 27-year-old striker on loan from Benfica is having one of the best seasons for a Mexican in England ever, statistically speaking.

Jiménez scored the opener in Wolves’ 2-1 win over Watford on Saturday, marking his 13th Premier League goal this season. 

After advancing to the quarterfinals of the 2017 event, Mexico looks to advance even further at this summer’s FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland with a group of 21 players that’ve excelled at the youth level for El Tri. 

A big talking point, much to the consternation of coach Diego Ramirez, is the fact that Monterrey has barred Jonathan Gonzalez from joining the side with the Liga MX playoffs looming.

(Update April 19: Read U.S. Soccer's response at the bottom of our original story.)

The last time the USMNT played a meaningful match, it was that horrific loss to Trinidad and Tobago in October of 2017, keeping the Americans out of the 2018 World Cup. After the 2019 Gold Cup draw, the U.S. will be seeing the Soca Warriors once again in their next competitive match.

The U.S. was drawn against Trinidad and Tobago, Panama and Guyana in Group D of the 2019 Gold Cup draw on Wednesday, setting the stage for Concacaf’s biennial championship.

PSV Eindhoven stumbled to a 3-3 draw with Vitesse to allow Ajax to go top of the Dutch Eredivisie table on goal difference, but things could’ve been worse if not for the dynamic play of Hirving “Chucky” Lozano. 

With PSV trailing 1-0 shortly before halftime, the El Tri star burst through the Vitesse defense, drove into the box and was taken out by the goalkeeper to earn his side a penalty. The 23-year-old then duly converted by sending an effort low and to the keeper’s right.

A meeting between two clubs desperate to cement commendable seasons with a shot at silverware produced a classic FA Cup semifinal today at Wembley Stadium. Wolves went 2-0 up by the 62nd minute before Watford came storming back to force extra time with a goal in the 94th minute, and then Hornets hero Gerard Deulofeu scored his second in the 104th to book his side’s passage to the final, where Manchester City awaits.